Flying-machine.



Fr TORRES.

FLYING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED DEC- 4| i917.

1,289,967. Y Patented Dec 31, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

awuemtof F Tqwg ea F. TORRES..

FLYING MACHINE, APPLICATION FILED m. 14, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- F. mmass. FLYING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-14, I917.

l ,289 96'7o Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SBEET 3.

FRANK TORRES, F EL'PASO, TEXAS.

Y FLYING- MACHINE.

Application filed December of the United States of Mexico, residing at El Pam, in the county of El Paso and State of Texas, have invented new and use :tul Inniroveinents in Flying-liflachines, of which the following is a specification.

Tl is invention relates to flying machines of ti ii heavier than air type, the object in vie being toproduce a flying n'iaehine or airplane oi superior lifting and carrying qualities and having accommodation for a large nllml'ml of passengers or a considerable quantity of fri'iigrht, the machine being also adapted for military purposes such bomb carrying and dropping", or the transport of Y soldiers.

The machine embodies in conjunction (with a body of novel streamline formation. fore and aft sets of Wings or planes, stabilizing means, and two sets of propellers, one set for lifting and sustaining: the machine in the air, permitting the speed of the machine to be greatly reduced even to the hovering point, and another set of propellers used for propelling the machine through the air in the normal line of Flight.

The invention also contemplates 'a nor-e arrangement of means for impartinga high degree of stability to the machine as 'a whole.

ll'ith the above and other ohjects in View, the invenliirm consists in the novel construe lion, combination and arrangement of parts, herein described, illustrated and claimed In the accompanying drawings Figure l is a plan'view of the in'iproved flying machine.

Fig. 2 is a Side elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation thcraof.

The improved machine comprises a body or fuselage 1 the rear portion of which, in rear of'the ii'ront plane, isof the conventional strcan'iline forn'iation as shown in Figs. 1 and The forward portion 01 the hody is substantially wedge shaped in plan as shown in Fig. 1 with the exception of the extreme forward part thereof which is in the form of a pointed p'row 2 forming a cock pit 3 in which is arranged the aviators seat 4 and the controls of "the machine.

Just in rear of the a'viators seat 4, I mount Specification of Letters latent.

Patented Dec; 31, ieie. 14, 1917. Serial in. 207,166.

a forward engine 5 the shaft 6 of vwhich is connected by means of gears 7 andB to a pair of oppositely extending countershaftsfi in turn connected by gears 10 and 11 to a pair .of forwardly diyerging propeller sna'fts 1'2 which are journaled in bearings and housed within the forwardly expanding portion of the body or fuselage l as clearly indicated in the plan view. On the forward extremities of the propeller shafts 12, I mounttraetor propellers 13.

In the aft portion of the fuselage, I mount a rear engine 14: the shaft- 15 of which extends in front and in rear o'f said engine and is connected by gears 16 and 1'? to a pair of elevating propelers 18. The propeller shafts 19 extend vertically through the bottom of the fuselage and the propellers 18 are arranged under said body as shown in Fig. 2. Bearings 20 for the propeller shafts 19 are located at a distance below the body 1 and close to the propellers 18 and are held by oblique braces 91. Rotary Weighted members 22 are carried by the shafts 6 and 15 and by rapid rotation they act to equalize the torque of said shafts; and also assist in maintaining the stability of the machine whole.

The front wings :23 extend in substantially horizontal planes from the opposite sides of the triangular forward portion oi the body l and are braced by means of stays 2-; which are connected at their outer extrcniities'to the wings and at their inner extremities to vertical members J 01 the landing, gear or wheel base as indicated in 3. ()ther sta 20 are connected at their outer extremities to the wings and are connected at their inner extremities; to a mast 2'? which rises from the body or fuselage 1.

in rear ol" the trout M'lNQ'F 23, I arrange a rear set of \i'ingrs 28. These wings are of bird like formation having rounded 0 convex leading edges. 2:) and flexible trailing edges 230 closely resembling 3 birds Wing. The ribs oi the rear wings 28 are flexible and particularly the rear portions of said ribs, correspondin; with a bird Wing structure. Furthermore the rear Wings have greater camber than the front Wings so that greater lil't obtained on. the rear Wings .while proceeding at a comparatively low speed than when flying at a greater speed, at

which time greater speed the wings tend to flatten out and diminish in curvature and camber due to the increased pressure against the bottom surfaces of said rear wings 28. This also enables the machine to make a landing'at a lower speed than will be possible under a rigid wing structure of the 'ing at high speeds. The rear wings 28 arenecessary low-degree of camber for travelbraced by stays 31 attached at their outer extremities to said wings and attached at their inner extremities to yertical members of the wvheel base or landing gear. Other I stays 32 are attached at their outer extremities to the wings 28 and at their inner extremities to a mast 33 rising from the body Wheel 39 is'arranged under the rear portion of the body 1 and attached thereto by a an inclined frame."structure 40. Another intermediate Wheel 41- is located centrally below the body 1 and is carried by a frame structure 42 extending downwardly from the body 1. The

. wheels 35,39 and 41 are arranged to simultaneously rest upon the ground preparatory to and after'flight. At' such time, the longitudinal:axis of the body or fuselage 1' is at angle with relation to the ground A surface. 1.

. In conjunction with each of the forward wings 23, I use a horizontal rudder 43 hinged at 44 on a horizontal axis, and a verticalrudder 45 hinged at its forward edge 46 on a vertical axis and formed with a. slot 47 through which the adjacent horizontal rudder 43 extends, enabling tl1e:ver-

tical rudder 45 to be swuiig to either side.

The rudders 43 and 45 are controlled andoperated by suitable connections leading, to

The "rudders 43 act both horizontal rudders, ailerons or stabilizers, it being readily apparentthat by simultaneously depress the front ofthema'chine is elevated anddirected upwardly as when taking an ascending angle. In order to set the machine in a volplaning angle, the-trailing edges of the i.--- rud ders 43 are elevated, -thus serving to de- '60 press the forward portion of the machine.

-The lateral equilibrium of the machine controlled by depressing the'trailing edge of the rudder 43 on the low side and elevating the trailing edge of the rudder 43 on'the' vertical rudders 45' to theleft, the forward part of the machine is caused to. veer to the right and conversely by swinging the trailing edges of the vertical rudders to the right,

. it will be seen that I have produced a flying high side of the machine. By turning the machine or airplane. having fore and aft sets of .wings which add to the carrying capacity of the machine. The stabilizing surfaces are carried by the front wings rendering the use of operating connections therefor possible.

The pro iellcrs 13 are of course employed to Y propel t e machine along the ordinary path of flight while the propellers 18 act in the nature of helicopter. screws,. exerting a direct downward pressure and a direct uplift of the body of the machine. This enables the speed of the propellers 13 to be' reduced or they may be entirely stopped in order that the machine a whole may proceed at a comparatively low speedor the speed of the machine reduced to the hovering point. It is of course intended to provide lioth engines with the ordinary throttling means so that either engine may be allowed toturn .at full speed or the speed thereof may be reduced according to requirements. It is intended of course to use the lifting propellei-s18 ,when rising from the ground .and'

100 after the propellers 18 maybe slowed down 'or entirely stopped, as the machine m y until the desired altitude is obtained. 'TThe'rethen maintain itsclf'in flight with the aid of the propellers 13 alone. The use of the lifting propellers 18, hoWevcr, in conjunction with the automatic increase in the camber of the rear wings 28 when proceeding at low speed, will enable the machine to land safely at a greatly reduccd spccdin a for-- ward direct on. i

It will also be observed ,that by 51 the angular disposition of the tractor pro- -pelle'rs 13, blasts of air are directed against levers 4;; and 49 in the aviators, cock pit 3.

This results in a material increase in the speed of the machine as compared with the ordinary arrangement of tractor or pusher propell ers.

I claim In aflying machine; the combination of ation in the head resistance of themachine.

body of streamline formation,- supporting 1 'wings extending in opposite directions therefrom andarranged in tandem formation, an engine mounted within the body, lifting propellers located under the body and connected being geared to and driven by the lastnamed engine, the front wing having a constant camber and curvature and the rearwardly disposed .wings being flexible and of aute- 10 matically variable camber. v

In testimony whereof, Iaflix my signature.

FRANK TORRES. 

